ASHCRAFT & GEREL SET FOR JANUARY 2019 TRIAL AGAINST J&J

Washington, DC: Local law firm Ashcraft & Gerel, LLP (A&G) heads to trial on January 22, 2019 in St. Louis, Missouri on behalf of three clients who allege Johnson’s Baby Powder caused their ovarian cancer. The case is captioned Vickie Forrest, et al. v. Johnson & Johnson, et. al. after A&G’s lead client Vickie Forrest, and includes thirteen total plaintiffs represented by several firms. The case will be heard by The Honorable Rex Burlison, who recently presided over a similar talcum powder trial where the jury found Johnson’s Baby Powder caused ovarian cancer in 22 women and awarded $4.7 billion in combined damages. This is one of several large state-court verdicts awarded in talc litigation. In 2017, a California jury awarded Eva Echeverria $417 million after it found Johnson’s Baby Powder caused her ovarian cancer. Ashcraft (A&G) was one of several firms representing the plaintiff in that case.

While Johnson’s Baby Powder has been on the market for over a century, the general public is just beginning to learn about the risks associated with its use. Recent investigative reports by Reuters and The New York Times revealed that Johnson & Johnson has known for decades and concealed the fact that its baby powder increased the risk of ovarian cancer and contained harmful contaminants like asbestos and heavy metals.

The epicenter of litigation against Johnson & Johnson, Imerys Talc America (miners and suppliers of talc), and the Personal Care Products Council (industry lobby for cosmetics) is in New Jersey, where a federal multidistrict litigation (MDL 2738) was established to oversee collective pre-trial work on over 9,000 women’s cases. At the helm of the MDL are A&G Senior Partner Michelle Parfitt and P. Leigh O’Dell of the Alabama law firm Beasley Allen.

For the last 38 years, Michelle Parfitt has distinguished herself as a champion of individual rights as well as a leader before the bar in the area of mass torts, with a specialty in navigating complex pharmaceutical, medical device and product liability cases.

If you would like more information about these developments, please contact Hope Wagner at 301.468.2734 or hwagner@ashcraftlaw.com